Soaring sales of fighter jet help revenues rocket at Lockheed

The f-35 programme is the most expensive weapons project everPETER NICHOLLS/REUTERS

Strong sales of the F-35 Lightning II fighter jet at the end of last year helped Lockheed Martin to beat Wall Street’s estimates for its fourth-quarter results.

Sales of the supersonic aircraft, which the company builds with BAE Systems, the British defence contractor, rose by 38 per cent, boosting Lockheed’s revenue by $570 million in the last three months of 2017.

Lockheed Martin, which is valued at about $100 billion, is one of the world’s largest defence companies. It makes aircraft, missiles, ships, combat vehicles, robots and electronic warfare systems, among other products. Like other big American defence companies, it is in line to benefit from increased military spending demanded by President Trump.

The F-35 programme, which is worth about $1.5 trillion, is the most…

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